These Days

I'm reading...

Emerging Mummy. Crosbi wakes up to eat each morning a little before 5am and while she's eating and drifting in and out of sleep, I read Sarah Bessey's blog. I have been challenged so much by her writing and now I look forward to waking early to snuggle with my little girl and soak in Sarah's daily entry. Sarah writes a lot about motherhood, marriage and challenging the church. Sarah's words in a recent post have become a new mantra of mine as I journey through motherhood: my little one imitates the woman I am today, not the woman I was once or hope to be. Who I am right now is who Crosbi will look up to, not the better version of myself I hope to be one day, or the "cooler" version I thought I was five years ago. What great accountability to live in the moment and be truly intentional with my life. Thanks for introducing me to this blog, Allison!

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 I'm listening to...

JJ Heller. If you are a mom, an aunt to a young niece or nephew, a nanny or a volunteer in your church's nursery, I'm insisting that you stop what you're doing, download JJ Heller's "The Boat Song," memorize the words and sing it to the little ones in your life. The first time I really listened to the lyrics, I knew it was the lullaby I would sing to Crosbi from that point on. I sing it to her daily. It is such a sweet song and it puts in words how I feel about my sweet girl.

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I'm eating...

While I'm officially obsessed with Pinterest, largely in part to all of the great recipes, I've had to simplify and put a system together in our house for meal times. A co-worker introduced me to E-Mealz a few months ago and I gave it a shot. Unfortunately after a couple of weeks on the Kroger plan, I realized the menu was filled with lots of dishes Todd and I would never eat, so I canceled my subscription. But then a couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail that E-Mealz now has a Whole Foods plan. I took a glance at the sample menu and it looked great. My trick? I use the Whole Foods Plan but still shop at Kroger (shhh...don't tell anyone!). If I see a meal or two that I'm not fond of, I substitute it with one of my easy go-to recipes or with one I've seen on Pinterest.

If you're not familiar with E-Mealz, it's a program that provides a weekly menu and grocery list based on the grocery store you choose. The recipes are based off the weekly sales the store is running, so that you buy a week's worth of dinners for around $50. Not too shabby!

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I'm wanting...

A new wardrobe. Todd has been antsy to make a trip to Atlanta, our favorite place for a quick weekend trip. Atlanta is great for shopping because there are so many stores there that we don't have in Nashville. I told him that as soon as I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (10 more pounds to go!) we could make a trip down so I could reward myself with some new clothes. I have my eye on a new pair of TOMS and just about anything from Madewell. Looks like I've got some working out to do!

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But really, these days I spend nearly all of my time with this little peanut, and there is nothing else in the world I would rather be doing. These days are good days.